Day 4 London (Part 1)

Well this morning was no different than any morning we've had there yet.  We still got up about 9ish and we took our time getting ready and talking about the plans for the day.  And we were fortunate enough to have gorgeous weather again.

Today's plan:  NONE

We were just going to do a bunch of random stuff and just have a fun and goofy day.

First stop:  Abby Road. 

Paul wanted to take that iconic walk across the sidewalk and have me take a picture of it.

And of course, I didn't disappoint.

Of course, it was busy photo spot and you had to take your turn when others were walking back and forth on the street (and wait for traffic).

And this little building was the Abby Road Studios.  Such an iconic place in music history and here was the little non-assuming building stuck in the middle of a quiet neighborhood.

They had a graffiti wall outside so that you could leave your mark.

And they had a webcam that was taking pictures of the crosswalk all day long so that you could look at yours on the internet.  I never was able to find ours.

So we hopped on the subway and headed over to see Big Ben.  We found an interesting bathroom in the Tube station and it cost 50p (which is 50 pennies.....about .75 American).  We laughed that they should have the slogan on it:  "50p to pee".  We paid it.....we needed to go.

 When we popped out of the Tube station, we were directly across the street from Big Ben. 

We asked someone to take a picture of us and got this.   I LOVE this picture of us!

 

 We never really saw any bobbies (police) the whole time we were there, but the Parliament building is connected to Big Ben.  As we walked around the building, there were LOTS of guards with AK-47's standing at the gates.  It was probably one of the most protected places in the city (along with Buckingham Palace.....which we never got to see)

 

As we walked along, we came to Westminster Abbey.....which was undergoing some renovation, but yet another beautiful church.

Well next on the list was lunch and then the afternoon activities could commence.  So once again it was back on the Tube.  Lunch today was going to be Fish and Chips since we hadn't had those since we'd arrived there.

We found a small pub called Barley Mow and ordered a sampler plate of Fish and Chips.  Love the character of these places.

They had an interesting slot machine in the bar, however, it looked way too complicated to try and figure that thing out. 

The fish and chips came with mushy peas and a curry sauce.  Personally, we weren't too impressed...but hey, we tried it.

After our break for lunch, it was on to our next destination....which was just a block away from the pub.  But we'll save that for the next edition of this journal.

To be continued...........................

2015 Gainor European Tour Continues.....Day 3

Day 3 of waking up in sunny London, England......oh yeah!

Woke up around 9ish again and leisurely got ready.  Of course, Paul had to have his coffee before we got off on our sightseeing.  But that also gave us the time to sit leisurely in the room and peruse maps, subway maps, sightseeing brochures, and the internet to figure out where we were going to go that day and how we were going to get there.

Here's an interesting factoid:  those of you who know Paul, knows that he likes half-and-half in his coffee every morning.  Well our room had one of those Keurig type machines, but only the packaged creamers.  We went down to the little convenience store and they don't sell Half-and-half in England.  The closest thing we found was Single Cream or Double Cream.....and this particular store didn't carry the single only the double.

It doesn't even look like a milk container.  But he ended up really liking it.....said it was a real thick cream.  Just another difference from another country.

We got out the door and our first destination was the British Museum.  It was only about a 10 minute walk from the hotel and of course walking the streets was so interesting and the weather was starting out to be a beautiful day.

You don't mind walking when you can have views like this!

We made it to the British Museum and there were throngs of people and kids on field trips.  Most of the kids spoke French, so we're assuming they came from France (duh!).  An interesting fact about the school kids we saw there.  They were all wearing uniforms and not just khaki's and a colored shirt.  The boys had suit jackets and ties and the girls had skirts with suit jackets and ties.  They were all formal and looked so neat.

This place was so huge it was hard to fit into one picture.

This was another one of those interesting finds.....and then you find out it's a FREE museum when you get there.

It's so big that it needed to publish a book to tell you what was all there.

 

The musueum consisted of 5 floors.  We started at the top and worked our way down.  Lots of very interesting and EXTREMELY old pieces.  I think the part I enjoyed the most (and the most crowded and popular spot) was the Egyptian mummies.  They had so many of them and it was really incredible to see them.

 

Something that Paul took a picture of.  It was in the Greece room, but I can't recall what it was.  Seriously, this Museum was HUGE and one of the guys working there told me they had millions of artifacts stored away that they didn't even exhibit. 

This was my favorite room in the whole Museum.  It was all wood paneled and wood floors and was filled with huge walls of old books.  Took a picture of my favorite guy by Hercules 

After spending 3 hours in the Museum -- it was time for lunch!  We walked around for about an hour looking for a good spot to eat.  We ate at Pret a Manger because of our interest in them.  They literally had tons of these all around London.  It seemed like every corner.  You picked your premade sandwiches, wraps, or whatever off of a wall and then paid for it.  It was more gourmet ingredients and choices than typical fast food.   We found a table out front and enjoyed a break and lunch.  Our impression:  it was reasonably priced (in that expensive city) and it was quick and easy. 

After lunch, we still had a valid ticket for The Original Bus Tour, so we found the nearest spot to get off and sightsee.  We rode for a little bit and then got off near St. Paul's Cathedral.  We determined our next destination was going to be the Imperial War Museum. 

We stopped awhile and perused our subway maps trying to determine the best way to get there.  Paul snapped this picture of me trying to not look like a tourist.  No actually, I said "hey Paul take a picture of me here!"

After two different underground trains and a 10 minute walk......we found our way to the museum. 

Lucky us.....another FREE museum!  We spent a couple of hours in here learning about England's side of World War 1.  It was an EXCELLENT war museum and we thoroughly enjoyed our time here.  We didn't even take any pictures, as we were so absorbed in the stories and exhibits.

It was about 5pm when we finished the museum and we had tickets to go see Wicked that evening....so the plan was made to head back to the hotel freshen up a little bit and then make our way to the theater.  This theater wasn't in the same neighborhood as we were, but it was about a 10 minute subway ride.  Personally, I was very excited about seeing this show!

The London theaters are MAGNIFICENT and The Apollo Theater was not disappointing.  Our seats were excellent......and were bottom section about 17 rows back.

The husband was not excited about it during the first half since it had just a little too much singing in it, but after the show ended he said that he really enjoyed the way it tied itself into one of his favorite stories The Wizard of Oz.  Personally, I LOVED IT, I LOVED IT....visually it was magnificent and the story was awesome.  I have waited so long to see this show and I think getting the opportunity to see it in London made it even more special. 

Of course, had to have my souvenirs to make my little memory books!

 

The show got out about 10:30 and we jumped on The Tube and headed back to the area near our hotel.  We knew it would be hard to find someplace to eat that late at night......but the area around our hotel would be no problem at all.

 

Our decision was to eat pizza, so we found this little Italian Restaurant about a block from the hotel and ordered pizza. Franco's Ristorante Pizzeria and it was open until 3am......perfect! 

 

 

Although, in London it was hard to find a pizza that two people could share.....you always had to order two of them.  Paul ordered a Quatro Formaggio, which had Gorgonzola as one of his cheeses and I ordered Canadian Bacon and Mushroom.

Yes you are seeing right.....the pizzas came uncut.  I loved the brick oven char and thin crust, although I felt like the pizzas didn't have much taste to them.  They use very little sauce on their pizzas.

 

So after a wonderful day of sightseeing, getting to watch an awesome show, eating a late night dinner.....it was time to head back to the hotel and unwind a little. 

 

After all.......we still had another day of sightseeing to plan!

A fantastic opportunity for us

We've recently come across an exciting opportunity that might be a huge benefit for Pizza Zone.

As you may, or may not, know.....we have still been negotiating with our landlord about the store expansion.  It's not only a big headache to do all the remodeling....but it's also expensive.  But we seriously have outgrown this spot and need to get some more space. 

We've kind of been holding back because we weren't sure that we wanted to invest all that money.  Paul also has a wish list of a new set of ovens ($30,000), a new walk-in ($15,000) and a new vent hood ($12,000).  So as you can see.....all of this stuff is not cheap.

Well we've decided to try and participate in a $100,000 business grant program that is being offered by Chase.  We talked about it doing it 3 weeks ago and then all of a sudden yesterday.....it popped up again.  Hmmmmm......maybe we need to take a look at this.

Okay.....so the first part is to submit a questionnaire.  So I've taken a little bit of time off from all the other million things that need done and work on this questionnaire.  The deadline is tomorrow to submit it......YIKES!

Getting this grant would be amazing.  It means we would be able to do our expansion PLUS get all the new equipment that we need.  It would set us up good for the next 10 years and not have to deal with continual equipment failures.

The next step is that we have to get 250 people to "vote" for us on a special Facebook page.  This will take us to the next level of the process.

So please watch for our posts and we would appreciate it if you could spread the word so that we can make that 250 mark.  We will also be rallying our customers to join in.

This would be an exciting and upgrade for our little old Pizza Zone store.  Cross your fingers!

The rest of Day 2 in London......the 2015 Gainor European Tour (Part 2)

Well we'll just finish the rest of our first full day in London still traveling on the tour bus.  Once we got the first seats......the picture opportunities were amazing.

 This was us crossing the Tower Bridge.  This was an amazing bridge and the views were awesome!

As we crossed the Tower Bridge, the London Tower was the next site on the left and our first time to hop off the bus.  However, before any sightseeing could ensue.......we had to eat.  We were looking for traditional England food and found a nice place across the street.

This was our choice.  It was close.  It was convenient.  And it looked like a classic London place to eat.  Not sure of the history of the place, but it looked like we were in an old subway tunnel.  In fact, as you were eating you could hear the trains running underneath you.  Loved the place.

 And what did we order.  Hunter's Chicken (here is the menu description: Topped with streaky bacon, melting mozzarella, Cheddar, spring onions and BBQ sauce) and Bangers and Mash (Cumberland sausages with mashed potatoes and a red wine gravy).  OMG......both were delicious!

Ok.....so now our stomachs were nice and full and it was time to go and visit London Tower.  Just a little history:  London Tower was a Royal Palace and fortress a long, long time ago.  It was a prison for Sir Walter Raleigh  and has several prominent people buried in the chapel (Anne Boelyn).  You can opt to have a tour by a real Beefeater who tends to and lives on the property.  And that's what we decided to do.  This guy was a blast.....we enjoyed his tour so much and of course there were so many pictures to take.

The Crown Jewels were located here.  They sure do have a lot of diamonds

and other fine gems in those crowns!

 

 

An impressive place to visit and quite a history to go along with it. 

 

 This is a magnificent looking bridge......The Tower Bridge

 

It was a windy day, but after it had rained all morning.....

you can see how gorgeous of a day it turned out to be.

Love this picture of us with that awesome bridge in the background!

 

After touring the London Tower, we were at the right place for us to catch the boat for the river tour.  However, because it was getting late and we had evening theater plans.....we opted for an ice cream snack and hopped in The Tube for our ride back to the hotel to freshen up.

 

Earlier in the morning when we were waiting for our tour bus, we had bought theater tickets for that evening and the next evening.  This way, we already knew our plans for the night.

 

Paul picked this play for our first night entertainment.

 

 

The theater was the Gielgud Theater and was about a block down the street from our hotel.  Since we were early for the show, we stopped in at a pub next door and downed a couple of local beers and then off to the show!

This is probably the most beautiful theater we have ever been it. 

 

 

Here we are before the play begain.  We had great seats, however, after watching the first half......we escaped at intermission.  We just weren't feeling this show, so we thought we'd scope out the area and find us someplace to eat. 

 

The decision was made for Chinese, since our hotel was right across the street from Chinatown.  Interesting walking along and looking at all the ducks hanging in the windows from all the little tiny restaurants.

 

 

We opted for Gerrard's Chinese restaurant and feasted upon some food that we had never had before. 

 

 

We spent the next couple of hours walking around the streets exploring.  Found a couple of casinos and walked through them, but most of them were table games and the slots were a little different than what we are used to. 

 

Since it was getting a little late, we stopped and bought a couple of beers from the corner grocer and went to the room.  After all, we had another whole day of fun to be had in London!

 

We sure did see a lot of stuff today........what an awesome adventure!

The first day of an exciting adventure! Day 2 in London 2015 European Tour

Technical difficulties solved.....let's get on with the adventure:

We slept a little longer this morning until about 9am and just took our time getting ready and out the door of the hotel.  As much as we were eager to get busy discovering London....we still were on vacation and didn't want to rush and not get enough sleep.

As we walked out of the hotel, it was a gray and rainy morning.  No problems for us.....we were equipped with the perfect clothing, umbrellas, and rain ponchos if necessary.  Of course, we snapped a pic of our moment!

Our plan for the day was to buy a bus tour ticket on The Original Bus Tour.  This allows you to ride around the city and see all the exciting tourist spots.  We also had a ticket for a boat cruise on the River Thames.  This tour bus gave you the opportunity to "hop off" and "hop on" at the places you want to visit.  Since it was raining, we were lucky enough to get a seat on the top deck under the partial covered roof on the bus.

 

 

 Unfortunately, the view from the 3rd row back isn't that great from the front.  But the view got a whole lot better when the people in the front got off the bus.  I was in predator mode and scooped up a front row seat when we had the first opportunity.

 Most of the rest of these pictures I snapped as we were taking the bus tour......but I cannot exactly tell you where most of them are.  I was so fascinated with the crazy roads, the beautiful buildings and the excitement of this city.......that I was just snapping pictures like crazy.  So as you enjoy the rest of these pictures.......I'll just pop in a note or two about the places that I do remember!

This was a photo opportunity by the bus tour guide to snap a picture of the London Eye with Big Ben in the center of it.  Lucky for me I was on the good side of the bus to get this awesome shot!

This was crossing the Thames River on one of the many bridges that are located in the city.

What's more iconic.....a shot of all the double decker buses.

 

 It seemed like very little side street was amazing and had a character all its own.  Just turn your head sideways on this one.  It really demonstrates the awesome buildings in this city.

This was St. Paul's Cathedral directly in front of us.  This is the church where Prince Charles and Pricness Diana were married.  I just have to say......some of the most beautiful buildings you will see in any city are always the churches.  They were magnificent in London.

We went inside the church, but did not do the full tour since visiting churches is never a high point on Paul's list of things to do.

 

This picture reflects the new and the old of London.  In the background is two of their modern buildings.....the Gherken which is the one on the left that looks like the top of a missle.  The other building on the right is The Cheese Grater.  I must say that have unusual names for their structures.

 

Well there was still lots more that happened on this first day......but since this blog has gone on and on and on......we'll save the rest of our day for the next installment of Debbie's exciting life.

 

I'm so excited to be finally getting this written......looking at the pictures bring back so many wonderful memories of this awesome trip!